Soft Prison Series
by ArtImitatesSex
Summary: A series of short stories revolving around Pryo stuck in an XMen prison facility. PyroKitty! Read and Review please!
1. Defeated, Defiant and Daring

_Defeated, Defiant and Daring_

His hands were chained, roughly rubbing the skin off his wrists. He wanted to scream, but only sat there with his head in his hands and his knees pressed up against his chest. He felt like crying but every time he tried his chest would constrict and he would bite the tears back. The room was blue and cold and it made him feel weaker. If only he had a spark; a flicker of fire somewhere. Then he would have the power to escape. He would feel more himself. Instead, he sat; cold in the corner of the room. The white walls made his skin look sickly pale.

His mind kept flashing back to better times. He thought of fire and of freedom. Now, all he had were those memories and his eyes caught the dull gleam of metal chains turning his skin raw. He missed the way the fire in his hand sent warmth through his entire body.

He didn't know how long they had been keeping him in that room. Alcatraz already seemed like a distant memory. He could hardly remember his fight with Bobby. The fight he had lost. What he did remember was waking in this white room with a splitting head ache. He couldn't get his eyes to focus on anything in the room. He remembered seeing a blurry face come into his view. Even though she was out of focus, he could hear her voice. It echoed through his head as if it was coming from far away.

"Its over." Was all she had said. He closed his eyes and fell asleep. He thought he was going to die. That his pathetic life was finally coming to an end. He didn't know if he was afraid or relieved.

It had felt like weeks had passed and he was still there, in that room. He kept wondering why no one from the Brotherhood had come to get him yet. Then, he heard footsteps coming from outside the door. It didn't open but he felt someone watching him anyway. A scent filled the stale air of the room, it smelled like strawberries. He cautiously picked his head up to see what was going on. He was afraid he would look up to see the face of Storm or Bobby, or someone else who hated him, instead it was a girl. Kind brown eyes, brown hair with her hands stuffed nervously into the pockets of her jeans. He stayed silent; he didn't know what to say to her. He knew that he recognized her. He knew she was the one who could walk through walls. He remembered her from school and Alcatraz of course. Although however hard he tried, he couldn't remember her name. He absently wondered what she was doing there, standing in front of his crouched form.

"I heard Bobby say that they had you locked in the cells." She said in a meek, girly voice. That's when he recognized her voice; she was the blurry figure who told him it was 'over'.

"To tell ya the truth, when I first saw you...you didn't quite look like Brotherhood material." She said, crouching down to meet his eye level. He could tell she didn't really know what to say. It didn't matter, because he didn't know what to say either. However, her eyes were comforting him. He felt the warmth of her body radiate over to his and it gave him slight peace of mind.

"So…for the past week I've been trying to place you. Where I recognized you from, besides Alcatraz. Then, last night, just as I was about to fall asleep I remembered." She paused, looking up at John. His eyes seemed empty as they just gazed back at hers. She noticed that he was still wearing his clothes from Alcatraz. Even his heavy boots were still on his feet. Although, he was a bit dirtier, this made him look even weaker sitting chained to the wall.

"I remember occasionally seeing this boy around school when I first got here. He walked around school with this 'holier-than-thou' attitude. I remember Bobby off-handedly telling me that he could control fire. Then, one day he was gone. No one told me what happened to him." She said with sadness. "Until I saw that boy, in Alcatraz, standing with the person I was there to fight against." She said. He looked up and their eyes met. Even though he had that sick, empty feeling in his stomach; when they looked at each other it seemed more bearable.

"You're Pyro." She said quietly. She was close to him, he didn't even notice when she had moved closer.

Slowly, he reached out his chained hand. She noticed that it was dirty and red and calloused from the chains he was wearing. He knew it was a risky move to touch her, but he needed contact. His fingers gently touched hers and it sent sparks through both of their bodies. Kitty was surprised; both by his daring move and her willingness to let it happen. He was the enemy, wasn't he? He didn't look dangerous to her; he looked defeated.

"Do you remember who I am?" She asked, and his hand froze. He couldn't look at her. She lifted her eyes from their hands to his face; as he was watching the floor. His eyebrows were furrowed, as he thought long and hard to remember her name. She took his silence for a no.

"I'm Kitty." She said quietly. He looked up at her and smiled. The first time he had smiled in a long time. He held her hand a bit tighter. Suddenly his face fell as he met her brown eyes.

"Help me." He croaked. His voice cracked from not being used in over a week. Kitty saw the desperation in his voice and it made her chest tighten. John entwined their fingers together to try and keep her close to him. He winced from the movement of the metal chains on his raw wrists. Suddenly, Kitty stood up and John's hand dropped back into his lap. He watched her with desperate eyes.

"I'll do what I can for you." She said, before she turned around and walked through the cell wall. John watched the wall for a few seconds, hoping she would come back through. When it didn't happen, he buried his head in his hands again and fell back into his silent reverie.


	2. Savor the Taste

_Savor the Taste_

It had been four days since her last visit. The only people he saw were Storm and Wolverine, usually to being him food. Sometimes, Beast would come in and administer some kind of sedative. They never said anything to him, and he never tried to make conversation. All he did all day was think of her. The way she smelled like strawberries, the smoothness of her finger tips. He started to lose hope that she would ever return. All that kept him going were her words, "_I'll do what I can for you."_

He felt disgusting and dirty and it annoyed him. He may have been a bad guy, but that doesn't mean he rejected hygiene. By this time, he had managed to get his boots off and they laid in a pile next to his crouched body.

Somewhere in the distance, outside of the room, John could hear the sound of a door opening and closing. Whenever this happened, he tried not to get too excited, since it usually ended up being Beast walking around the cells. He absentmindedly wondered who else they had locked up down here. His thoughts were interrupted when Kitty walked through the wall he was facing. John jumped a bit out of surprise and this made Kitty smile a bit.

"Hi John." She said with an innocent smile on her face. Seeing that smile made John suddenly forget about all the troubles floating around in his head. All he saw was this girl. He nodded back at her, as his own greeting. He noticed she was holding a small bowl full of water and small white rag in her hands. She walked towards him and crouched so that she was eye level. It was just like the first time they met. She set the bowl down next to his legs.

"Sorry that I couldn't come sooner, kinda hard when everyone is watching your every move all day long. Thankfully, everyone is out for the night so I thought I might keep you company for a while." She said with happiness. He didn't know why, but he felt happy along with her. He silently watched her as she dipped the rag into the cool water ad rung it out. She then looked up into his darkened blue eyes and spoke softly.

"Let me see your wrists." She said, holding out her free hand. He extended his right hand, making his chains rattle together. The moment her fingers touched his skin; he felt alive again. He watched her as she moved the hard metal of his chains and gently started to clean his raw, bloody wrists. He winced at first from the biting pain and she quickly apologized. For a few long minutes, she cleaned his wounds, until the water in the bowl was red. When she was done, she continued to sit in front of him.

"Do you know what they are going to do with me?" He asked her, almost in a whisper. She shrugged her shoulders.

"They seem pretty torn. They wanted to hand you over to the authorities but since you used to be a student here, I think they feel obligated to keep you." Kitty said. John found that oddly comforting, at least they weren't as merciless as Magneto.

They continued to sit with each other for a few moments. John clutched his stomach, out of hunger. Sure, they were feeding him, but only one meal once a day. He tried to make it look inconspicuous, but Kitty noticed. Suddenly, she stood. Scared that she was going to leave for the day, John took her hand.

"I'm coming back." She said, with a smirk on her face. He let go of her hand and she walked through the wall. John had started to become very envious of her powers. What he wouldn't have given to have those powers while he was stuck in his tiny cell. While he waited, he found his mind wandering to Kitty. At first, her unusual kindness towards him left an unnerving feeling. Now, she seemed like a beacon of light in his dark prison. He thought of how soft her hands were and how smooth her voice sounded. He had let his mind wander over her features until she came back through the wall; with her hands behind her back.

She stood in front of him with a silly grin on her face while he watched her expectantly. She waited for a few seconds, for the anticipation; until she couldn't contain herself any longer. She pulled her hands to display her surprise. A wide grin appeared on John's face. **Strawberries**.

Kitty giggled a bit and she skipped over to John, sitting down next to him. Se leaned against the cool metal of the wall and set down the strawberries in between her and John. This small gesture insured his hope that there was at least one person who cared about him. He picked up a strawberry and bit into it slowly; savoring the taste in case he didn't ever get a chance like this again.

For a few moments, they were content with being silent and taking their time eating. Neither of them knew when it happened, but their fingers became intertwined. It felt good; he felt good. He felt safe with her.

After at least twenty minutes, all the strawberries were gone. Kitty stood but John didn't let go on her hand; he, in fact, held it tighter. She turned back to look at him in surprise.

"You're coming back right?" John asked, letting his lonely desperation show once more. Kitty gave him a small smile and a reassuring squeeze from her hand to his.

"As soon as I'm able." She said, then she let go of his hand and he watched her disappear through the wall. He leaned his head back against the metal of his prison and closed his eyes; trying to savor the taste of strawberries.


	3. Reminds Me of Fire

_Reminds me of fire_

He felt exhausted. He didn't even know if he was still awake; or alive even. He was lying on his side on the hard floor, his shackled hands in front of him. Kitty hadn't been in to see him almost four days and he was growing restless. It was her visits that kept him going. It was Kitty.

He was about to drift off to sleep when he heard that all too familiar whooshing sound. He looked up and saw her; clad in flannel pajama pants and a black tank top, with a small black zip-up hoodie wrapped around her chest. He felt incredibly small when she stood over him; even though he knew if he were to stand up he would tower of her. He thought it was odd that she was wearing pajamas until he realized that he had no idea what time of day it was. Until Kitty practically read his mind.

"Everyone is asleep." She said as she took a seat against the wall; close to where he was lying. He thought to sit up but he didn't just yet.

"Why aren't you?" John asked, his voice slightly echoing inside the cubic room.

"I had a nightmare. Then I couldn't fall back asleep." Kitty said simply. That was truth, she couldn't fall back asleep. However, not because she was scared; because her mind was running a mile and minute with thoughts of a certain prisoner downstairs. John stayed on the floor, peering up at Kitty. They just watched each other for a few minutes.

"So, are you really evil?" She asked. The question was so abrupt and the way she said it was so endearing that it actually made John laugh. He quickly whipped it away though, when he saw the serious look in her brown eyes.

"Yes." He said, in barely a whisper. She looked deep into his eyes; she looked so hard John thought that she could almost tell he was lying. Then, she giggled a bit and turned her face away.

"What? You don't believe me?" John asked; acting like he was offended. He then sat up and faced her. He crossed his legs and let his hands rest in his lap. She looked down at his wrists, taking note that they had healed quite a bit since her last visit.

"If you're so evil, why are you talking to me?" Kitty asked. John knew she was right, so he just kept quiet. However, he still felt evil; still felt like a monster. The only bright thing in his life was her; and the thought of her.

"Because, you're the only one that gives a shit about me." John said, bitterness laced his voice. He voice was deep and broken. He gazed at the white wall, drifting into thoughts of nothingness; when suddenly he felt her arms go around him. Clutching him tightly around his neck. He was shocked by her action but when her warmth started to drift onto his body he hugged her back. It was only then that he felt all the depression and anger melt off of him. He could feel her breath on his neck and it felt beyond comfort. His chest tightened, not because of the threatening tears; but because he could feel the change she was making in him. She was changing him. Instead of making him feel vulnerable and weak, she made him stronger. He sat there in her arms for a few minutes until Kitty pulled away.

"I have something to give to you…" She said softly as she reached into her hoodie pocket. She pulled out a small woven bracelet. It was made of yellow, orange and red threads maneuvered together. She looked up to his face as he studied the gift.

"I found one of those old bracelet making kits you get when you're a kid. I saw the colors and they reminded me of fire. It made me think of you." Kitty said as she handed it to John. He immediately put it on his right wrist, with some difficulty because of his shackles. He looked at it on his wrist for a second then looked back up at Kitty with a kind smirk on his face.

"I've never gotten a gift like this before…" He said, looking into her small brown eyes. He couldn't understand the feelings he was having. Could he really feel for someone who was supposed to be his enemy? He lifted his bracelet clad hand up to her hair. He played idly with a stray strand of soft brown hair before pushing it behind her ears. He mind decided that it didn't matter where her allegiances lie, she was his friend. His only friend. "Thanks."

"Anything for you." She said, so quietly he thought it was in his head. They stayed together until six A.M. Kitty decided it was best to leave before Beast came in to check on him. She stood and John watched her with hooded, tired eyes. She smiled at him before stepping through the wall. John gazed at the bracelet and fell asleep with a smile on his face.


	4. Teach the Difference

_Teaching the Difference_

"What did you want to be when you grew up?" Kitty asked as she looked to her right to look at him. Her voice was playful and it brought a smile to John's lips. Visiting John had quickly become routine for Kitty. When everyone else would go out to dangerous missions, she would volunteer to stay behind and monitor John. Monitoring John, of course meant bringing him food and trying to keep his spirits up.

"What do you mean?" he asked, looking back at her; a smirk still on his face. He was beginning to learn to smile again. When Kitty was around, it came out naturally. He glanced down at his hands, which were still chained. The only difference was Kitty's hand. It was resting on top of his, which were lying on his lap.

"Ya know, before you found out about your powers…what did you want to be?" She ended her question with an expectant smile. John sat there silently and thought for a long time. Kitty thought he wasn't going to answer so she gave him an encouraging squeeze of her hand. It made him turn to look at her. First he looked at her hair, and then her lips then rested finally at her eyes.

"Uh, well when I was in Australia I used to spend a lot of time at zoos and aquariums. So, I always thought I would do something with animals." John said, with a thoughtful look in his eyes. Kitty gave him a big toothy smile and John couldn't help but admire her in that moment. She was such a breath of fresh air in his life. He couldn't imagine living in that cell if it wasn't for her visits.

"What about you?" John asked. She had obviously thought about this often because she didn't take more than three seconds to answer.

"A teacher." She said; John nodded his approval. He moved his free hand to move on top of hers. His fingers touching ever so slightly; doing small brushstrokes across the top.

"What kind of teacher?" He asked. He noticed that she was watching his hand. Her breathing was heavy but even.

"Well…computers were always the obvious choice." She said with a smile, as if she was thinking of a fond memory. "But I always thoughts that ethics was cool. I remember all the lectures the Professor gave on the subject. Learning the difference between right and wrong…" Kitty trailed off. John wondered if she thoughts being here, with him; was right or wrong. She was supposed to be keeping watch on a murderer, not holding hands and talking about their thoughts and feelings. As John let his thoughts take over, he felt Kitty move closer to him. Her knees brushing against his. He felt her free hand move to his leg. He felt her delicate fingers trace the faint pinstripes on his pants. The trailed up from his knee. Up, up; higher, higher. He felt a flutter somewhere deep in his stomach. He looked nervously up to her eyes and saw a gleam that made his stomach flip and his throat dry. He leaned closer to her and whispered into her ear.

"Is this _right_ or is this wrong?" Shivers ran up her arms as she met his hungry blue eyes. She didn't understand why, but a feeling came over her. It told her to run.

Just as his lips were mere inches away from hers; she did just that.


	5. Lead the Way

_Lead the Way_

He felt a strong rumble from above shake his entire cell. It shook him violently from his quiet sleep. He had been dreaming of her. Breath hot against his lips; hands scorching lines up his thighs. When a loud crashing noise invaded his dream, John sat up quickly; looking around him for signs of damage.

He listened hard, trying to hear what was going on upstairs. He heard hundreds of stomping feet; it sounded chaotic. He could hardly tell one noise from the other and it made John nervous.

A second later, Kitty fell through the ceiling and landed on her feet in front of John. John quickly took in her appearance. She had a large gash on her cheek that was trickling blood onto her black and pink leather X-Uniform. Her hair was messy and was sticking to her face. The expression she wore told John that there was obviously something bad going on.

"Kitty, what's going on?" John asked, panic in his voice as Kitty knelt down in front of him. Inches away from his face. He could see subtle tear tracks on her cheeks and he could practically feel her shacking.

"Trask ordered a full Sentinel attack on the school." She said, her voice trembling violently. Even though John knew something like this would happen someday, he still felt genuinely shocked.

"Come on, we gotta get outta here." Kitty said quickly. She reached for his hands and before he knew what was happening, she was phasing his hands through the chains. John looked up at her in amazement as he touched his wrists. She smiled at him quickly and stood up. John couldn't help but stare up at her in awe of the leather outfit. _The way it perfectly accents her-_

"We've gotta be quick. Let's go!" She said, snapping him out of his thoughts. She helped him stand up. He was right, he did tower over her. A barrage of feelings started to overwhelm him when he realized what she was doing. He was a killer, her enemy; yet, she came back for him. He saw her hand something to him and when he looked down, a smile came over him. It was a small, red Bic lighter. He looked up at her.

"Just in case." She said with a playful smile. John nodded slightly and reacted by grabbing the soft spot underneath her jaw and pull her towards him. His warm lips smashed into hers. She now realized he wasn't only called Pyro because of his gift. He _felt_ like fire. For a few sweet moments, they forgot about the world that was falling down around them. It was just them and now. Weeks of exchanging subtle moments and fractions of smiles all lead to this one mind-blowing kiss. When he pulled away from her, he looked into her soft brown eyes. They were glistening with tears and hunger.

"Just in case." John said in a soft whisper. Kitty smiled and took his hand. They both phased through the cell walls. He was finally seeing the world outside of his cell and the feelings of freedom were overwhelming.

"We have to hide somewhere." John said as they both dodged a chunk of the ceiling that had fallen near them.

"There are some abandoned buildings a few blocks from here." Kitty said as they stepped into the elevator and headed to the upper levels of the mansion.

When the elevator opened out into the main hall of the mansion, John was reminded of a very similar event from his past. Students were running in every direction; screaming and crying. John was overwhelmed by the sounds of screaming. Kitty took John's hand and they started running through the crowd, trying to get to the door. When they past a window, John suddenly stopped and stared. Outside, in the distance he saw one of the Sentinels. Gigantic blue and red machines shooting lasers and missiles in every direction.

"Why are they here?" He asked, as Kitty stopped at his side. She was panting as she lifted her hand to grasp his forearm, trying to urge him to look away.

"They came for Jimmy." She said quietly. John gave her a quizzical look.

"Leech." She said finally. John breathed in deep and found himself being dragged through the wall in front of him. Seconds later, the cold hit his skin and he shivered. Everything felt louder out here, screaming and rushing of student's footsteps as they fought to escape.

John could see at least six Sentinels in the near distance. He could also make out some of the powers that were being used against them. The sky had grown dark and lightening charged down from the clouds, striking one Sentinel. He heard a gasp from beside him and saw a missile headed straight for him. John unconsciously pushed himself in front of Kitty. He lit his lighter and felt the fire rush from the lighter into himself. Finally, he felt truly warm. He felt as if someone had breathed new life back into his body. He didn't feel like a cold prisoner anymore, he felt free. He felt the fire move from his body into the air, where his flames collided with the missile. The heat melted them to nothing in mid-air.

He turned to look at Kitty, who was looking off into the distance. At her teammates and then back at John. He could see that she was making a difficult choice right in front of him. Take John to safety or right. When their eyes met, he could see her confusion clearly.

"Come on." She said, slipping her hand back into his. Before he could say anything, they were running again. They didn't bother dodging anything, they just phased through it all. The feeling of phasing through solid objects was one that John couldn't quite get used to. They were passing through trees, benches and fences and after a few minutes they were outside the school grounds. The paused on the sidewalk for a moment before running across the deserted street.

They ran for so long, John couldn't keep track of the minutes. Though, no matter how tired they were; they didn't stop. They were panting and their hands were slick with seat but they didn't let go. They passed countless buildings that they could have hid in but Kitty just kept running. So John did too. They tried to put as much space between themselves and the Sentinels as possible.

Finally, after what could have easily been an hour; they stopped. The building in front of them looked diseased. The door was rusted shut and the windows boarded.

"This looks good." Kitty said as she walked towards the building, bringing John along behind her.

"Yeah, if you wanna become infested with fleas." John said sarcastically, even though in his head this was as good a place as any. They walked through the wall and found themselves standing in a practically empty room. There was only a dirty mattress placed in one corner. They walked towards it, and John sat down with a groan. His legs felt stiff from running. Kitty sat down next to him. He let his hand drift over to her knee, where he rested it. His gaze fell on his bracelet. Yellow, orange and red. He looked up at her face, where her cut was still bleeding.

He quickly took off her hoodie and used the fabric of his sleeve to whip away the blood. She winced a bit from the pain and he quickly apologized. When he was done, he ran his thumb over her tender cheek. She looked at him with a look he couldn't quite read. She looked sad and excited at the same time.

"You saved me." She said in a tiny whisper. John took it in; it was such a loaded statement._ Shouldn't I be saying that to her?_ For now it didn't matter what she meant; all that mattered was that they were both still alive. John's hands left her cheek and tangled themselves in her messy brown hair.

He kissed her with such tender softness that Kitty barely felt it at first. They didn't kiss with urgency; it was just them and now.

They had both been saved.


End file.
